Tusk warns no guarantee of Brexit deal as Merkel backs Cameron

European Council head Donald Tusk warned today ahead of a key summit there was "no guarantee" EU leaders would reach a deal to keep Britain in the bloc as German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed London's demands for reform.
Only hours before the make-or-break summit in Brussels which he will chair, Tusk said: "After my consultations in the last hours I have to state frankly -- there is still no guarantee that we will reach an agreement."
"We differ on some political issues and I am fully aware that it will be difficult to overcome them. Therefore I urge you to remain constructive," he said in a formal letter of invitation to the EU's 28 leaders for the two-day parlay starting tomorrow.

Merkel earlier threw her weight behind Prime Minister David Cameron's reform demands, saying Germany shared many of his concerns and had done so for years.
"These are not just about Britain's individual interests on some issues or questions, rather it is about several points that are justified and understandable," she told parliament in Berlin.
Cameron has four key demands -- welfare restrictions to help curb immigration, safeguards for non-euro Britain, increasing competitiveness plus an opt-out from closer EU integration -- and they have all exposed sharp differences over what direction the European Union should take.

Up to now, Merkel, the EU's undoubted power-broker, has offered support with the caveat that any changes must not compromise fundamental EU values and achievements, such as free movement of people.

Now, she said, Germany shared Britain's concerns.
"Like David Cameron, I believe that it is necessary for the EU to improve our competitiveness, transparency and (reduce) bureaucracy. Germany has shared these concerns for many years," she said.
Even the controversial proposal to curb benefits is "justified and understandable because the jurisdiction for each respective social system lies not in Brussels but in each individual member state," she said.
"Therefore, it is only natural for every member state to be able to protect its social system against abuse."
Cameron has promised Britons an in-out EU membership referendum by 2017 but it is widely expected that if he can get a deal in Brussels, he will call the vote for June.

Fail, however, and he has said anything is possible, including Britain becoming the first country to leave a bloc which critics believe is heading towards becoming a super- state, instead of the cooperative collection of independent sovereign countries they want to see.
The key sticking point is Cameron's demand that EU citizens working in Britain not be allowed to claim welfare benefits for four years.